Teach me about raisins

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reeflections

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I am getting ready to make my 2nd batch of banana wine. The 1st one is really doing well. But this time I was thinking about adding raisins, so I bought some Sun-Maid Golden raisins. The ingredients list: "California Golden Raisins and sulfur dioxide (sulfites) added as a preservative." I'm only making a gallon.

Will the preservative hurt anything? Should I rinse them 1st? Or should I just omit and eat them? Any other thoughts?
 
i use pectic enzyme to help break down both my bananas and and golden raisins, i use apple juice, some use white grape juice,,, but first i let my bananas set out till heavily black spotted then freeze both the bananas and raisins, then i thaw slowly and add apple juice, bananas are very lacking on juice, water pull most of your flavor out, if only doing a gallon you can ferment in a 5 gal bucket with a towel over it, stir once to twice daily , twice if stirring by hand, i only stir once daily using a cordless drill with a mixer shaft in your drills chuck, you be best off before freezing your raisins, you should put them in a blender, that way you don't have to use as much pressure on your raisins, for 3#- 6 gallon carboys i used 135 lbs of banana, i'd have to check around 10 gallon apple juice, i seen on here the other day someone used 80 lb banana for a 5 gallon batch, Rice_Guy can give you all the formulas and tech, computations ,, i use a much more primitive basic old time country wine style,
Best of Luck
Dawg
 
Thanks for your thoughts Dawg. I really appreciate them.

My earlier banana batch was even more primitive. For one gallon, I used 2 1/4 # of bananas with peels and 1 1/5 # peeled. Didn't freeze any. 2 1/2 # sugar, 1 lemon w/peel just cut in half, and 2 1/5 tsp of pectin enzyme. SG went from 1.112 to .984. It's been 28 days since I pitched the yeast and I have racked it 4 times now and it is every bit as clear as store bought white wine with a kinda light pee color. There is just a hint of banana flavor to it and I think it is very tasty. Can only get better with time now right?

I hope to improve on it with this batch by freezing the fruit and adding raisins. I hadn't thought about freezing the raisins too, or the blender, so thanks for that. I will probably use acid blend instead of the lemon since I don't have a lemon and don't want to go to the store these days. I didn't want change too many things at this experimental stage. I'm trying to come up with a formula I really like so I can go to the 5 gallon batches with it.

BTW, I guess we are kinda Ozark neighbors, although I am in MO.
 
Thanks for your thoughts Dawg. I really appreciate them.

My earlier banana batch was even more primitive. For one gallon, I used 2 1/4 # of bananas with peels and 1 1/5 # peeled. Didn't freeze any. 2 1/2 # sugar, 1 lemon w/peel just cut in half, and 2 1/5 tsp of pectin enzyme. SG went from 1.112 to .984. It's been 28 days since I pcr too, itched the yeast and I have racked it 4 times now and it is every bit as clear as store bought white wine with a kinda light pee color. There is just a hint of banana flavor to it and I think it is very tasty. Can only get better with time now right?

I hope to improve on it with this batch by freezing the fruit and adding rasins. I hadn't thought about freezing the raisins too, or the blender, so thanks for that. I will probably use acid blend instead of the lemon since I don't have a lemon and don't want to go to the store these days. I didn't want change too many things at this experimental stage. I'm trying to come up with a formula I really like so I can go to the 5 gallon batches with it.

BTW, I guess we are kinda Ozark neighbors, although I am in MO.
cool i live in the instep of the bootheel,, first off these days my mail and anything i order paper and cardboard
stays outside in a old car for 4 days, metal an plastic 8 days, retrieve my mail using exam gloves, . my banana i use 12 lb to the gallon, the golden raisins help give the banana more flavor, in country wine making forum i got a banana mix started, i got lazy and did not blend my raisins, causing me to break my cast iron press plate in half,, it had been in use in napa valley since 1880, , but i got me a small stainless press, i was pressing juice so i had to dump my must into carboys to save it, in the next couple days i'll finish pressing it. then let it bulk age in a card boy, i rack every 3 months, to clear and to degas, my bananas i lay out till mostly black and mushy then i freeze them, the raisins you chop up/blend any way to bust them or they pump up and it takes a lot of pressure to bust them when pressing must to juice, if not already grinded,blended,chopped. to get plenty of wine i use 135 lb of banana and 35 lb golden raisins and 15 to 20 gallon of apple juice, lots of pectic enzyme to break down your fruits or berries, let ferment dry, then rack into carboy dry is around .998 to .990. my starting SG OF AROUND 1.100 , using EC 1118 YEAST bananke a starting sg of 1.100, skeeter pee i use a starting sg of 1.140, both lemon and pineapple hide the rocket fuel taste, all my country wines i back sweeten just at bottling time using sorbate and k-meta to protect your wine and to the wine ferment from starting back up, known as wine bombs, hehe what a mess them are, so check out the recipe forum and country wine forum, feel free to ask all the question you need to learn being a noob you should do your posting in the beginner wine forum, most on here look down on country wines but that's fine i look even lower on so called proper wines described as chalky, ,earthy, leather, my wines are described as fruity tasty, they taste like the fruits and berries i use, i tasted chalk in school, yuck, earthy yup i've had dirt in my mouth yep yuck again, and i've rode horse most all my life and leather taste like crap, but remember one thing the only opinion on taste is yours, make wine you enjoy the taste of, but the so called proper wine makers can learn you tons, but i'm not that technical, country wines are a art, a feeling, a country boy talent, start you a thread in beginners wine forum and explain your steps and ask your questions, i help all i can and there is some brains on here as well. welcome to WMT
Dawg

PS. i leave all skins on all my bananas
 

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